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In the pre-draft process in which no stone is left unturned, one 1985 Bears linebacker helped another lock on to the best 4-3 middle linebacker the league has seen since Brian Urlacher in his prime. The 2011 season was barely in the rearview mirror of Panthers coach Ron Rivera when his friend and former teammate Jim Morrissey called. "Have you seen Luke Kuechly play?" Morrissey wanted to know. He'd been conferring with Rivera during the draft process for a couple of years, recommending players he'd watched closely at his alma mater, Michigan State, or at Boston College, where his son Mike played after prepping at Stevenson. Three years earlier, he had pressed...

Related "Lawrence Taylor" Articles

In the pre-draft process in which no stone is left unturned, one 1985 Bears linebacker helped another lock on to the best 4-3 middle linebacker the league has seen since Brian Urlacher in his prime.
The 2011 season was barely in the rearview mirror of...

The first question is whether the Bears can address any of their many defensive problems as the free-agency signing period opens Tuesday.
The second question is whether Phil Emery can say no.
Both questions involved Michael Bennett.
The brother of...

A Bears team that tied for the fewest sacks in the NFL last season began free agency by signing a defensive end who recorded fewer sacks than Julius Peppers, a defensive end the Bears couldn’t wait to get rid of because, well, he didn’t record enough...

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Quick, digital-only thoughts from In the Wake of the News columnist David Haugh.
For openers ...
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You have written repeatedly that Shea McClellin is not a fit as a linebacker in a 4-3 scheme and what I don’t understand is why? His measurables compare similarly to those of Brian Urlacher when he came out of New Mexico and he proved to be a perfect...

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Once the Ravens got into the playoffs, there should have been a sigh of relief over at The Castle because all the pressure is gone.
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Jonathan Ogden stood in the hallway at the Under Armour Performance Center in Owings Mills, his Afro nearly scraping the ceiling. The towering former offensive tackle fiddled with a tiny new phone in his massive hands, nonchalantly describing one of the...